YOUR MAMAS NOTES: Your Mama as been sitting on this property for a couple weeks now for no other reason that we just haven't gotten around to discussing. Too bizzy. Too preoccupied. Too many other more important properties? Anyhoo, all the children who viewed that deelishus and fa-bew-lus emotional train wreck of a house flipper Jeff Lewis on the Bravo'sFlipping Out program will surely recall that this is the project that Mister Lewis and his ex-beaufriend turned bizness partner Ryan Brown began at the end of the last season.

According to all the commercials flooding the boob toob recently, all the real estate obsessed folks like Your Mama will soon be blessed with a new season of Flipping Out, so Your Mama thought it might finally be time to discuss this property in Los Feliz's desirable Oaks neighborhood. The house sits way up Valley Oak Drive and there are three things Your Mama thinks the children ought to know about Valley Oak Drive:

1. It's gated...not guard gated, but gated none the less, so no paps or looky-loos roaming around trying to get a look at famous residents puttering on the front lawn or dead-heading there tiger lilies.2. The house Jeff Lewis lived in (and sold) on the last season of Flipping Out is located on Valley Oak Drive.3. The Brad Pitt/Angelina Jolie compound is wedged between Valley Oak Drive and Briarcliff Road. Make of that what you will.

Property records show that entrepreneurial and mercurial Mister Lewis and his much less colorful bizness partner Ryan Brown purchased this 3,024 square foot 1960 post and beam in March of 2007 for $1,710,000. If our memory serves correct, and it may not at this early point in the morning, they did a fair amount of demolition of the interior spaces before they put it back together again in a behemoth blaze of beige, brown and white...which is pretty much what they always do on their mid-priced flip properties, isn't it? As the naughty stripper in Gypsy says, "You gotta have a gimmick."

Here's the thing...if Your Mama is being honest, and we always are, we are worn out by and weary of this particular house flipping gimmick. While there's little to beef about because everything is so damn bland and neutral (except for that tragic two tone sofa in the living room which is a punishable offense) Your Mama is dun–D.U.N.–with this sort of W Hotel meets a Calvin Klein outlet store sort of interior day-core. Sorry Mister Lewis...we love you and your crazy ways, and clearly you know how to make the big bucks flipping houses, however Your Mama would really like to see you expand your repertoire beyond beige. Would it kill someone in the Lewis camp to toss in a little color here and there? Seriously? A little blue rug or some green glass objetd'art? Would that really be so terrible?

Anyhoo, given that all the beige furniture and brown fabric are part of the meticulous but over-zealous staging of the property and will be removed when a new owner moves in, let's try to see beyond the beige to the the house itself.

Listing information indicates there are 3 bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms in the modestly sized mini-manse that more then a little resembles a motel...an aesthetic reference we don't actually mind that much. A second gate at the bottom of the driveway further ensures the security and privacy of the new owners and listing information indicates that all new systems were added including a comprehensive security system with cameras (more peace of mind for the most paranoid), a whole house audio system and more wall mounted plasma televisions than Your Mama cares to count.

Other notable features of the hillside property include long decks running the length of the house that provide an excellent spot to smoke a post-dinner doobie while gazing over the glittering lights of Tinseltown. The master bedroom includes floor to ceiling glazing, a big bathroom with one of those egg shaped soaking tubs that cost a fortune but would never be used by Your Mama or the Dr. Cooter (who do not like to sit in their own filth), and last but certainly not least a "diva" walk in closet. Oooogurls, looky here, we got a "diva" walk in closet for all the queens who like to line up their sweaters like they live in a Benetton boo-teek. You know that's gonna bring them running up the hill in their Gucci loafers and Range Rovers.

Your Mama isn't usually fond or friendly about a front yard masquerading as a backyard, but we certainly understand why in this particular case it was the right thing to do (the view). We can appreciate the arrowhead shaped swimming pool and we can imagine that pool deck is a lovely spot to soak up some sun and read all the gossip glossies. But it's also a long haul to the kitchen from the pool deck so we hope that Mister Lewis and Mister Brown have installed a mini-bar with a refrigerator near the pool because Your Mama is too damn lazy to haul our fat ass up all them stairs to the kitchen whenever we need to refresh our pitcher of gin and tonics.

Given the somewhat topsy-turvy state of the market in Los Angeles, Your Mama really hasn't a clue whether this house is priced right or not. We're certain all the Chicken Littles will say it's worth $800,000 and we're sure all the Los Feliz property owners will say it's a steal. The truth may if fact be somewhere in between. Whatever the case, it is Your Mama's humble opinion that if you like livin' in Los Feliz and have several million clams to spend on a house, you could certainly do worse than this.

106 comments:

Anonymous
said...

I like this house, and being practical to a fault, the view, spacious and open interior spaces including the kitchen, numerous new amenities, and gated Los Feliz cul-de-sac location, make this a much more attractive potential buy for me than the Ryan Murphy house. All that and a full $1 million less than Murphy's home too - `nuff said.

7:00, you took the words right out of my mouth...views, interiors, location, and preference of it over the Murphy house. Exactly!

Beyond that, what's up with those high perched shelves flanking the fireplace, the artwork mounted so high and the sea of beige? I respect -- not necessary agree with -- neutral surfaces and decor, but seriously, would a bit of soft spot color really hurt.

Jeff, could you reconcile with budgeting somebody for two hours and $300 to accessorize? Maybe a little Tiffany blue (coverlet for bed and three or four well placed pillows)?

I think I like the Ryan Murphy house a little more in some ways and this one a little more in others. The kitchen here is clearly superior. it has a good lay out, recognizable counter space and suits the home. Seeing beyond all the beige, someone with a smidgen of color sense could come in and do wonders.

The exterior of this house leaves me cold, though. It just looks like a hopped-up suburban tract home from 1965.

The pool shape is pretty, but not nearly as functional as a lap pool, which I prefer as an active swimmer.

It looks like a case of "to-may-to"/ "to-mah-to" to me in terms of which property is going to tweak your mid-century modern jones.

Normally I love a nicely executed contemporary home, but, this one, um, not so much.

I understand when flipping a home that decor goes out the window when genericism flies in, but the actual structure of the house leaves much to be desired, from the oddly placed clerestory windows that seem to be an afterthought, to that hopeless pool surround.

It may have spectacular views, but then so does a Motel 6 along Roanoke Parkway, which this resembles much too closely.

Enjoyed your comment alesandra and you make some good points, thank you. If the decison boiled down to a designer verses a view home for me, I'd be inclined to go for the view. I'd cosmetically improve the exterior, and have to replace the white privacy fencing surrounding the pool area with another alternative though. That feature cheapens the look to me. Perhaps something that vines could climb on and cover eventually, softening and blending it into the view.

This house was open last weekend and some friends saw it then called us. We didn't make it over. I'm pretty sure the access is off Canyon Drive so "oaks snobs" are going to say it technically isn't in The Oaks.

There is a compound of houses off Canyon that is currently listed for 5+ million. If anyone can come up with the story on that property, it's Mama. I would love to know who accumulated that property. It looks amazing on the web.

I like his attention to detail and that if you buy one of his places you're not going to have to worry about anything. Just put in your own furniture and have some sort of ivy or vine on the front of the house.I like it,plus as everyone else has said,in LA it's always about the view.

There's nothing particularly bad about the place, but it'd still be dullsville (to my eyes) even if you undid Lewis' bland-inization project. Ho-hum exterior lines cluttered by over-busy railings. nothing very compelling about the interior spaces. Can't stand that railroad-tie look of the steps to the pool, and hate the frosted glass enclosure even more. Again, none of the above is inherently wrong. I just wouldn't bother getting out of the car to take a look. And maybe what it comes down to is not sharing Lewis' vision...I don't usually love the houses he chooses, and I would change most of what he does to them.

I don't hate it as much as you do, pch, but I have a feeling I prefer Ryan Murphy's place. Would have to actually see both to make a final determination, of course. MLS photos are notoriously misleading.

pch, now that you point out the deeper layers -- and I hadn't planned to go there -- I agree with railings, both at the window deck and pool surround. I would have gone for a transparent Malibu-type floating barrier. Please appreciate I've been distanced from California architecture for a while, ergo lowering my bar on the small details that may or may not be found within glass house properties. These homes are few and far between in the Midwest. That said my reach to fly-spec is desperately satisfied.

Alessandra, I love so much about the Ryan abode. My big gripe is really the master bedroom. I appreciate fine wood, but that wall -- for me anyway -- seems like a bachelor pad. I luv the concept of form following function. To that end, the Ryan house seems decidedly masculine; none the less extremely well executed, sans need for a revisit to kitchen details.

I agree with alot that's been said here. Interesting reading today. My thoughts are you can always change architectural details, but no amount of money can buy a view like this home has where it dosen't exist. So I'd buy this house and use the $million saved on the Ryan house to create the best of both worlds.

Poor Mr. Lewis already reduced this "modern" pad $200k. As a few weeks back when it was first listed it was a wee-bit under the $3.2mm mark.

Jeff & Ryan's particular fondness of Los Feliz and forcing homes into fitting this conetemporary style still puzzles me a bit. While the house is beautiful, (if this psuedo contemporary architecture is your thing), I think it leaves alot to be desired.

However, for the price and location, someone will find themself a good home.

You can check out a full photo tour and more details on the home here....

It is a real shame that Jeff Lewis and others are still at the party that was over last week.

I wish them luck but remodeling, fixing up a home is not really motivating anyone to overpay anymore.

A majority of the ones who did have the means to overpay are now homeless, in jail or left our country and went back to theirs.

The banks are lowering appraisals way down, which means a loan is out of the question so only a cash buyer would be able to buy the property and from what I hear cash buyers are still waiting on the sidelines.

thanks to people who provide links to bigger pictures.Colour is personal taste, I find a sea of neutrals far nicer to live in and can do without the splashes of colour here and there, like someone screaming in my ear.I like the landscaping, it's like a little rocky fairyland.

See, I'm disappointed. They took what was a beautiful, interesting midcentury house in a gorgeous neighborhood and turned it into the kind of "cookie-cutter-chic" monstrosity that inhabited by many a gay man on the other side of town. I hope it sells, and quickly, but next time, would it be so difficult to add a bit of personality to one of these homes? We know he can do a sensitive restoration...perhaps if he'd just try...

See, I'm disappointed. They took what was a beautiful, interesting midcentury house in a gorgeous neighborhood and turned it into the kind of "cookie-cutter-chic" monstrosity that inhabited by many a gay man on the other side of town. I hope it sells, and quickly, but next time, would it be so difficult to add a bit of personality to one of these homes? We know he can do a sensitive restoration...perhaps if he'd just try...

$3m goes along way in other cities and countries. It's about time you Americans wake up and smell the coffee and move to another country. But I understand that cannot be done because you guys are lazy and don't want to work, want to live around the corner from the inlaws and be 5 minutes drive to the nearest McDonalds.

What makes L.A so great? the jobs out there are crap. Move to Sydney, Australia.

they are not as excited as they were a few months ago and it is now a reality, they are picking apart appraisals like never before, remodels do not count, add ons do not count, what they are looking at is what the 5 comps sold for in the neighbor hood in the last few months.

My loan officer even told me off the record to wait a few more months, she said sooner than later the sellers are going to finally get it and drop their prices way way way down esp now that the banks are not buying into their hype.

Now I am beginning to wonder how many of these high end homes are actually paid for with cash vs loans.

If a bank refuses to give out a loan on a 7MM property what is the property really worth ?

if the seller brings it down to 5MM but the bank says it is worth what it was appraised for in 2001, which was 1MM, what then ?

Like I said before tell it to the bank not me, I am all for the prices they are listed at now, I do not want to wait for them to come down, that could take years and what do I during that time ?

rent ? I want to own !! I want to throw big parties at the new place, I want to live the hollywood lifestyle !!!

Another property I was looking at recently, the owner is asking a around 6MM the place looks amazing modern, brand new 180 degree views and yet zillow is putting it's value at around 1.5 MM

Now you cannot deny that there is a HUGE price gap between 1.5 and 6MM.

Further more again none of the homes in the area that are in the same price range have sold in the last 3 months.

I want to get this place now and so I went to the bank for a loan, they said no to the 6MM loan although I had 2MM to put down, they agreed to give me 1.5MM (their assessed value of the home) so I had 3.5MM to work with.

I went to the owner with the 3.5MM offerand he thought it was an insult so the loan fell apart and the home is still on the market.

This my friend is a new emerging problem, the banks have started to take appraisals apart and go over them with a fine tooth comb and they have no interest in helping to finance a high end property at it's asking price like they were doing before.

there should be a qualification required before people are able to post here, my god, such misinformation... there are two homes and probably more that are currently in escrow for 7m pluse, and by the way,90046 IS NOT THE SUNSTSTRIP, 90069 andthe best of the strip is the taniger, bluejay, thrasher, thats the "carbon beach " of the hills as one said on here and there are two homes in escrow there right now,over 7m have been for over 2weeks, and another on risinglenn in escrow over 7m so do your research before posting

blue heights, colecrest ,is not prime, the houses selling on viewmount are "special deals" not what they appear, the multiple offers are occurring in the prime areas and trousdale, there is tons of cash out there. tons... people buying 6 7, 10 million dollars homes are buying all cash or they need min. 30%down wiht financials and much more for e.z qual, enough of the doom and gloom being posted on here my i amsure people living in studio apartments in tarzana, they are the "chicken littles" they never bought anything cause of fear and they never will, cause it will never be ther right time, it will "always be going to go lower" same people in the stock market, i knew a woman who looked for years at realestate before this boom, never ever bought, very negative woman, and the realtor who loved his coctails, summed her up best just before he dumped her... "she will not be happy till the seller is bleeding in the driveway and handing over the keys, she will drive off and say, will he go lower? perfect. fyi she still rents in bevhills, and low and behold, she is now a realtor, and a very angry one

anon 10 34 you are correct the homes I am interested in are in the 90046 zipcode

and it is really hard to convince a loan officer that a 6MM home that zillow says is worth 1.5MM is worth 6MM or close to that especially now and it make matters worse when the 5 comps ,have not sold at that price or close to it in the last 3 months.

I am sure you will hear about this problem in the news very soon.

as far as 90069 that is the BH area so maybe the banks are looking at that area in a different way ?

hey, i amnot ed, or whoever, just someone who knows about this stuff. 90069 is not beverly hills either, who is this guy? no appraiser i know uses those stupid sites for values, most do not show the updated sq. ft. and improvements, so if a 2000 sq ft shack has been replaced by a 5000 sq ft new or remodeled house, it does not pick that up, till it sells, so all those sites are useless, no good appraiser would use them and all appraisers drive the comps and speak with the realtors ,some who will talk and help, thats how appraising is done, the records are most often misleading, the high end appraisers know to get the inside scoop, a property can be on a 15,000 sq ft lot but only 5,000 be usable, makes a huge difference in value, the sloping part is useless. anyway, mr.ed, or mr. joe, mabye you are here jsut to stir things up, but at least do it with some basic knowledge then we can all have fun, your posts so far make no sense, quote some facts, articles, references, then will give you your due.....

Yes, the market is not red hot the way it was in 2005, but the desirable areas are still holding their value. If you're looking for a 50% price drop, go buy a real-estate owned tract home in Palmdale or Riverside.

True that some buyers want the seller to be lying bleeding in the driveway so they can run them over and stab them and set them on fire. What those buyers never realize is some day, they're going to have to sell that home. I'm a believer in karma.

Here is a quote, and I do not think that banks are takings appraisers at their word anymore

Lenders tighten loan rules, demand more money down

"The days of simply stating your income are over," said B.J. Perez, mortgage broker and owner of Monarch Mortage in Sparks. "You have to be able to prove income and prove that you have money in the bank."

"Banks are just picking apart the appraisals on houses right now," Wiseman said. "I've seen several cases where the bank doesn't accept the appraisal and the loan just tanks."

"Now, lenders want proof of income, proof of how much money you have and proof of where that money is coming from. Now, they're only making loans that make sense."

unfortunately alot of real estate professionals took alot of imagination with the term "sunset strip" i have seen places in laurel cyn , advertised as sunset strip. thats a stretch, sorry, so is thrasher being bevhills adjacent, its misleading and why bother, thrasher is a primo street, there are some "shacks" but its prime area, as you can see right now with whats happening, and it sure does not hurt if a celebrity lives on your street, provided that celebrity is not gary colemen, well, maybe, i am always amazed the value it gives to have a celebrity be on the street.its almost worth it to pay some down and out celeb to to move in for awhile, anyone know how to reach rula lenska?..

sorry, thrasher is not even adjacent, one would need to jog at least 3miles to the west and even then you might be in parts of bev hills P.O. not bev hills real, the real bev hills 90210 has all the ammenities of a wealthy city, so even the P.o. does not count, the best is the best, and thats whats selling for top dollar the primo properties are getting top dollar, those on the "real sunset strip" and those in the "real bevhills" why would anyone wiht the bank settle for less. the sellers if they want to sell are not being crazy crazy, they want to sell, but they are getting great prices

Then again I read in big time listings that sharon stone has now lowered her estate to 10MM which is almost a million dollars less than what she paid for it and it is in BH so maybe it is not so immune or prime after all ?

"The days of simply stating your income are over," said B.J. Perez, mortgage broker and owner of Monarch Mortage in Sparks. "You have to be able to prove income and prove that you have money in the bank."

"Banks are just picking apart the appraisals on houses right now," Wiseman said. "I've seen several cases where the bank doesn't accept the appraisal and the loan just tanks."

"Now, lenders want proof of income, proof of how much money you have and proof of where that money is coming from. Now, they're only making loans that make sense."

Those comments by professionals make sense. YOURS is only a half truth. None of those three comments by professionals say anything about increasing down payments.

They all say what should have been true all along - You have to show proof of income, you have to prove your cash is YOURS, not your sister's boyfriend's lover's uncle's maid's lotto winnings.

since you have all day to comment on this blog, get the mls take the time to figure it out, hint these properties are in the upper area of sunset plaza drive, that is thousands of homes for you to go through, some of them are on the market some of them have been withdrawn.

OK...I'm a loyal HPer also but I'd rather come here and read beautifully sarcastic descriptions of celebrity homes rather than a bunch of bickering between the two opposite ends of the housing crash spectrum.

REIC employees...quit being so bitter and angry.

Ed/whoever...You won't be getting prime high end properties for pennies on the dollar. Yes, prices have and will soften further but quoting a mortgage broker from Sparks (NV?) is a joke.

Just because a bank doesn't want to gamble on your real estate accumen doesn't mean money is not available. Good properties, priced well; will always sell. Those who can do....Those who can't say it is stupid and someone elses fault.

"Those comments by professionals make sense. YOURS is only a half truth. None of those three comments by professionals say anything about increasing down payments."

anon

I never mentioned anything about an increase in down payments, all I said was that the banks are picking apart appraisals they have their own appraisers that are brutal when it comes to assessing the value of a home, remodeling, upgrades do not count for much now.

They also said that if I wanted to get the loan for the listing price or close to it I had to show proof of 5 comps sold in the last 3 months in the same area, which I could not do.

banks want to have sure bets on their loans now.

believe what you want

but try it I challenge you

you will be surprised at the results, I know I was, now tell me that cash is not king.

and to the other anon no it is not on zorda, so stop asking me I will never tell.

"all I was saying is that the link is proof that the banks are in their own minds reducing values of homes across the US."

No, banks aren't reducing values "in their own mind". They are just being cautious about believing an independent contractor who might be being paid off to write an inflated appraisal. It is called "good business".

More like "this 400k condo is only worth 325k and the loser who owns it has a first for 300k and our 150k HELOC with 50k balance. We better freeze that other 100k before the a**hole goes out and buys a new BMW with it".

They asked the US govt to bail them out of trillions in bad loans, their pleas fell on deaf ears, they are pissed about the jingle mail, so now they are saying F*** it and over devaluing homes and my friend lies the problem.

Most of the HELOCS are not trying to buy BMW's , they are just trying to put their kids through school, college, buy food, gas, and survive.

This event is going to make waves in the press this week as I am sure this is affecting thousands of families.

Jeff did a good job. He got all the signature items installed without killing his budget. The view is to die. What's better then living next to Brad Pitt? Standing on your balcony looking right down on his whole compound...Jeff knew exactly what he was doing.

From the Flipping Out show, I got the impression that he really wasn't making a comfortable living, because he was always having to sell the house under his feet in order to buy the next one. He never had money. He loves the sturm und drung of it all, I guess.

Please leave all the boring economic statistics to CNN.This blog in NOT about crap like that,It's about curtains,celebrities,lamps,celebrities,chairs celebrities.....................EXPENSIVE celebrity real estate,drama,more chairs....................

Starting June 1, 2008, Fannie Mae will accept up to 97 percent loan-to-value ratios for conventional, conforming mortgages processed through its Desktop Underwriter® (DU®) automated underwriting system, and 95 percent loan-to-value ratios for loans underwritten outside of DU, in all geographic locations in the United States. The new national down payment policy will supersede the policy the company adopted in December 2007 that required higher down payments in markets where home prices are declining.SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU DOOM AND GLOOMERS

Fannie Mae will continue to provide support for homebuyers that need down payment assistance, and will continue to allow loans with Community Seconds® up to a maximum 105 percent combined loan-to-value ratio. Community Seconds allow a borrower to obtain a second-lien mortgage to help cover down payment and closing costs, with funding typically provided by a state or local housing agency; an employer; or a nonprofit organization. Fannie Mae also offers MyCommunityMortgage® and Flex mortgage products, which permit down payment assistance programs in the form of gifts and grants.

Forget real estate, the real money would be in a program that would unmask all the anonyms once a week. Then we could all know who said what and how many multiple personalities are participating here. It seems that the number of anonymous comment section terrorists is "exploding." I would like to know what the advantages of anonymous postings are...it's not like anyone is signing his/her real name any way.

any programs that are made are stolen and pirated off in the billions to others all across the globe.

software is dead industry.

if you want a program like that, hire a guru or learn how to make it yourself, watch thousands of tutorials on the web and start doing it, of course that will take at least 10 years to master but by then they may have the pirating problem under control.

Ed, et al, is easy to identify within the first 10 words (s)he writes, and is thus easy to skip over. All of us have been attacked in the same way over time.

Like it or not, a blog is a form of free speech, and (s)he's entitled to enact any interior monologues in public as is done here.

Let the ranting and raving go on; as long as we don't respond to it, (s)he will get bored and hopefully move on. If not, at least it will prove a fascinating document of the hideous product of a diseased mind.

How can you tell a gold Cartier IUD? There is no signature on it and the appraiser at the Antiques Road Show said Cartier never made IUDs. They refused to have me on the show. My Brentwood gynecologist assured me it was Cartier and made me pay extra because Kaiser wouldn't cover it. I am not a celebrity but I only buy the best. Please notice I did not mention loans or mortgages. My health care is more important than Aguilorrhea's cheap house.

Is it wrong that I kind of like the tub. Although, just like my extra large jet tub in the my mastebath, I would never use it.

We did find that orchids situated around the tub love love love the humidity from the shower. They keep blooming over and over again.

And I agree with the earlier commentor... Jeff Lewis knows exactly what he is doing. Someone will cough up the money for this place... and living next to Brad Pit and his orphanage is worth the wondky window lines.

I'm confused. I know LA pretty well, but have never been to Los Feliz. It can't be that bad if Brad Pitt lives there , can it? Is the guy not an architecture buff? That, paired with being a giant star, leads me to believe he wouldn't live anywhere sub-par. Enlighten me.

Great kitchen. Normally galleys make me claustrophobic, but this one, with it's openness and tasteful style, seems nice.

Bentley, Los Feliz is very nice. It surrounds the south side of Griffith Park. It is one of those eclectic LA neighborhoods where you find houses on the National Registry (Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House) in the same area as modest 2-3 bedroom homes. Celebrities are just people you see in the grocery store. Mama has written about a number of celebrities who have owned homes in Los Feliz. Madonna is a past owner from prior to Mama's blog.

I love this show! I am completely addicted and it is a permanent resident in my TiVo. I would love to wake up to the Valley Oak House everyday with that amazing view. Can't wait to see what happens in Malibu next season! Love you Jeff!

Jeff, we absolutely love the show! We flew all the way down from Washington to see some of your work! To bad the season is over! You have truly inspired my fiance Denise and I to get into the renovation business. What happened with Malibu?

Is this what America has come to? Wasting time and space on a vile emotional pygmy like Jeff Lewis. He should be spanked and sent off to stand in the corner of one of his rooms, forever. Preferably the one that has the badly painted self portrait. Was his plastic surgeon aiming for his lips and miss when he made his injections. For someone who demands perfection he should be perfect himself. He is gross and why people would subject themselves to his behavior says more about them than Jeff. Vile, vile, vile...